A western Massachusetts college president is urging higher education leaders to stand up to the incoming Trump administration.
President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to punish and defund colleges that have diversity and inclusion programs.
Mount Holyoke president Danielle Holley said many colleges are being advised, by lawyers and public relations consultants, to hide their DEI programs and LGBTQ outreach.
But Holley said that would be a mistake. Why make it easy for Trump?
“To basically comply with things that are not within our values simply because we feel a threat of investigation is something that we should not be doing as the higher education community,” she said.
“Instead, we need to just say ‘No! Here’s what we stand for. We will continue to stand for this. And if you believe that you can legally challenge our mission or our values, that’s up to you to try to do,’” Holley said.
Holley, who is a politics professor and a civil rights expert, arrived at Mount Holyoke in 2023 as the college’s first permanent Black president.
She said many of Trump’s threats are unconstitutional and would violate free speech. She said any action against colleges or universities over their DEI programs should be met with strong legal challenges.
In the short term, Holley said Mount Holyoke is looking to support students who may be affected by the incoming administration’s hostile anti-diversity and LGBTQ policies. That could include offering gender affirming care to students who may no longer be able to access it in their home state.
Holley says some colleges and universities may try to appease the administration by scrubbing their websites of diversity language, but she said that makes no sense for a college like Mount Holyoke, which was one of the first women’s colleges to welcome trans students.
“As a women’s college, we value the inclusion of women and people who are marginalized on the basis of gender. We have to value things like reproductive rights, etc., because it goes to the heart of the health of our students and their well-being,” she said.
“So we have to just kind of buckle in and prepare for four years where we have a federal government that’s hostile to the core mission and values of Mount Holyoke,” Holley said.
But Holley acknowledged that the threat of withholding federal funding hits institutions differently. While Mount Holyoke — like most colleges — relies on federal loans and grants for students, she said the college gets less federal research money than some large universities.
Amherst College, Smith College, and UMass Amherst declined interviews but sent statements saying they plan to continue with existing diversity programs and policies. Hampshire College did not follow up on questions about their DEI plans.
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